Yesterday, the Washington bill that would have required the labelling of GMO foods was defeated. Despite having support from 66% of the Washington population in September, by October, that numbered had plummeted to only 46%. We need only look at the $22 million in dark, out-of-state money spent by opponents of the bill, versus the $8.4 million raised by proponents, to realize the pollution of our democracy by big money spending in politics.

An Arlington, Va.-based conservative group, whose existence until now was unknown to almost everyone in politics, raised and spent $250 million in 2012 to shape political and policy debate nationwide. The group, Freedom Partners, and its president, Marc Short, serve as an outlet for the ideas and funds of the mysterious Koch brothers, cutting checks as large as $63 million to groups promoting conservative causes, according to an IRS document to be filed shortly.